Dawn Released

"Making sure you get home safely," Tristen answered. Kacie melted in the passenger side. She'd unwound her scarf and pulled her gloves off. Flakes of moisture glittered in her hair and the curling ends of her long, dark lashes. Her cheeks were reddened with flush. He'd like to think he'd caused that blush, but it was probably just the cold. She smelled of the Super Center, of popcorn from the snack bar, of onions from the produce department, and the chemically smell of plastic sacks. She wore that ridiculous parka she'd worn on the day they met and on a night like tonight, he didn't blame her or think it strange the way she'd bundled up.

Kacie looked away from his deep mahogany colored eyes and focused on something else besides him. One look into those deep puppy dog eyes he always shot at her and she would be a goner. "I didn't tell you what time I got off work. You stalking me again?" She joked. He'd never really stalked her at least that she knew about.

"I'm just a good guesser. Besides, I called Jan and she said you weren't getting off till late."

"Oh." Jan was playing the role of big sister, keeping her safe, looking out for her, and of course, trying to hook her up with Tristen. Kacie guessed that Jan didn't realize how dangerous Tristen was. How aware of him she was. His big hands rested casually on the steering wheel as the SUV ate up the parking lot. The tires firm and steady on the ice, as he pulled out onto the hard packed snow blanketing the main road. She was tempted to run her hands along his fingers and feel their strength and power beneath her palm. The naughty side of her wondered exactly what he could do with those big hands.

Tristen shot Kacie a sideways glance as she sighed and stared ahead out of the windshield into the snow. The weather came in bursts ranging from artic gusts and pellets of ice and curtains of snow to a gentle wafting of a few fluffy, white flakes and a flat windless calm. He turned off the windshield wipers. It was barely snowing now. Five minutes ago it'd been a blizzard. Winding through the neighborhoods to get to her house, he saw people shoveling walks and brushing off their cars. They'd be sorry. The weatherman predicted the stuff was going to fall until morning. Deep in his bones, Tristen felt it. The worst of the storm wasn't over yet. The forecast was right on track. The snow wasn't over.

The weather was just one of the many things his wolf just knew. Funny really, how when this first happened to him and his wolf had made his big debut, Tristen hated his enhanced senses. He'd despised the intrusiveness of scenting people's moods. He'd resented sharing his skin and the lack of control. Now though, his wolf and he were best buddies. Well, he was getting used to his wolf and all the things his other half actually told him about the world around him. Like Kacie, his wolf had relied valuable pieces of information. He was getting to her. Slowly, bit-by-bit, she was weakening in her resolve. He could scent it in the air, the fragrance sweet like candy on the tip of his tongue. Maybe, like a cinnamon drop, sweet, hot, and spicy. "Rough day today?" He asked making the usual small talk that society required.

"Unbelievably. I don't think there's a roll of toilet paper left in the store. What do people do with all that toilet paper anyway? Are they expecting sudden outbreaks of diarrhea from the snowstorm? Do they burn it if the heat goes out? Do they think there'll be a national toilet paper shortage? Tell me, because I have been scanning roll after roll all day and I still can't figure it out."

Tristen snickered. "Who knows? I guess they could use it to start a fire. Maybe, it's because with all this snow it's not like they can use leaves to wipe with instead, if they run out."

"They could always use the town's newspaper to wipe with. There certainly isn't ever anything in it." Kacie shifted nervously in her seat. Her wolf liked Tristen more than she should. Her wolf was a prankster, always playing tricks on her. And one of her she-wolf's favorite tricks was screwing around with her libido. Tristen was cute. But, there were lots of cute guys. Tall, suntanned, strapping, sun bleached, summertime boys hardened from work on the farms. Unfortunately, her wolf didn't seem to notice them.

"Yeah." Tristen inched the SUV around a corner, creeping to her apartment. They were only two blocks away and it was time to turn it up a notch. Engage the guilt button and talk her into letting him spend the night. The couch was fine with him. As long as he was close to her, he'd sleep on the floor if he had to. In her bed would be best though. "Geez, the roads are really getting bad."

"You don't seem to be having that much trouble. After all, you made it into town." Kacie's body shifted in the seat as the SUV slid to a halt and fishtailed at a stop sign. She gasped and released her hold on the dashboard. At first, with the ease of his driving, she hadn't believed him. She'd thought he was trying to coax his way upstairs into her apartment and from there, into her bed. Maybe, he wasn't using the bad road card in his favor after all and he really was having some difficulty staying out of somebody's front yard. She was hardly one to pick on anybody's driving. She and snow, well, she and snow had a tenuous past and her car had ended up in Thomas's front yard.

"That was a few inches ago. The roads in the country are snow covered, but in town, they're nothing but ice. Plows haven't gotten out that far yet and besides' there's nothing out there to hit if I do lose control." Tristen eased up on the brake and gently gave the SUV a small sip of gas. Driving was tricky tonight, but nothing he couldn't handle. Kacie didn't need to know that though.

Kacie licked a few drops of spilled hot chocolate off her fingers. "You mean the roads are worse here because they've been plowed?"

"Yeah, the street department got them stripped down to ice. Have you seen what the street department consists of around here?" Tristen swore that the street department had one employee, a snow shovel, and a bag of rock salt. That was it. He was vying for a little sympathy from Kacie and a night in a warm, cozy bed. A bit of feminine appreciation would be nice. Hero worship was always welcome.

Red and blue lights flashed behind them, flickering through the SUV's dark interior. "Great," Tristen huffed. He guided the SUV to the curb, as close as he could get to the curb thanks to the mountain of snow, anyway. The plows had packed the snow tightly against the curbs to clear a path on the street. He slid into park and rolled down his window. He was trying to be a nice guy and give a damsel in distress a ride home. Instead, his chivalrous intents were going to get him a ticket.

Mack hated snow. When he retired, he was going to take winters off. Become a snowbird and nest someplace warm and sunny every December through April. His booted feet slipped in the slick coating of ice on the road. The cold wind nipped through his standard issue police parka and bit into his bones. Thank God this was his last year. But, of course, he'd said that last winter too. One of these days though, he'd actually say it and mean it. Truth was, he played with the idea of retirement. He knew exactly what he was going to do when he retired. Too bad Jan and Thomas hadn't gotten on board with the plan and made him that great-grandbaby he was waiting for.

The county was officially under a snow emergency. Road traffic was suspended. People should be home where they belonged. Enjoying a hot toddy, which was exactly where he wished he were. He recognized the non-descript, black SUV and the driver. "Evenin' Tristen." He tipped his hat at the passenger. "Kacie. What are you two doin out on a night like this?"

"Hey, Mack." Tristen nodded toward Kacie. "Making sure Kacie gets home safe from work. That little car of hers wouldn't have made it out of the parking lot, let alone gotten her home."

"Appreciate that. Tow trucks are booked for hours. Bad wreck on the interstate," Mack said, bobbing his head to the north, toward the road. A gust of cold wind tugged on the hem of his standard issue jacket. "Nasty night to be out."

"Sure is," Tristen agreed. Hoping Mack's statement would hold weight with Kacie, he shot her a soulful glance. After all, Mack was the county sheriff. Maybe his proclamation that the roads were indeed bad would help soften her up to the idea of taking him in for the night.

Mack leveled his gaze into his best 'no screwing off' warning glare. "Roads are closed for the time being. Street department can't keep ahead of the storm. Emergency traffic only, sorry guys. Hopefully, once this storm lets up they'll get the streets passable." His radio chattered in his ear, calling him to an accident scene, a slide off into a ditch south of town. Didn't sound too bad. But, he'd seen one too many bad accidents in his time. He didn't have to work too hard to conjure up the images in his mind. Most nights, he tried like hell not to. Insomnia was making an old man out of him. Tragedy stacked layer upon layer and every time he laid his head on his pillow his mind had a free for all. And with twenty-seven years of the kind of shit he'd seen to choose from. His nightmares had plenty of material. According to the police radio, luckily, this one resulted in no injuries, just a frightened driver. "I'll cut you a break this time. You get somewhere and you stay there till this storm lifts. I don't want to get a call about you."

"Got it, Mack. Sorry for the trouble. Stay safe out there," Tristen called after Moore County's finest. Snickering as Mack waved him off with a gruff gesture and climbed into his cruiser. Tristen cracked his knuckles and slid the SUV into gear. Kacie had no choice but to offer him shelter for the rest of the night. Mack had practically ordered her to. He owed the sheriff for that small favor, big time.

Kacie shrank into the seat. Great, now she was stuck with Tristen. He wasn't climbing in her bed and she wasn't offering. He could sleep on the couch. The SUV didn't fishtail once on the rest of the drive to her apartment. Tristen was grinning. She couldn't see it in the dim interior of the SUV. But, she could sense it. He was pleased as punch to be trapped in a freaking blizzard with her. Well, she hoped he liked Raman noodle soup and canned pasta.

The SUV lurched as Tristen gunned the engine. With a big thump and rumble of power, the tires cleared the miniature snow mountain that blocked Kacie's drive. He was mildly annoyed that the street department had barricaded her driveway. Maybe, he'd be stuck here till spring and wouldn't that be a damn shame.

A small parking space and narrow path had been shoveled to her stairs. The wooden flight of stairs to her above garage apartment was blessedly clear of snow. Particles of rock salt glittered in the headlights. Ginger was the best landlady ever. Kacie would have to neighbor with her more often. Ginger was always trying to be friendly. Kacie felt bad about giving her the cold shoulder. She just thought Ginger was being nosy. Jan had warned her that sometimes her landlady could be a bit gossipy. The windows in Ginger's house were dark, though. Otherwise, Kacie would have tromped through the snow to say thanks right then and there.

"I'll take care of that in the morning. I can't believe they buried your driveway. I spent hours shoveling and with one swoop of their plow blade they barricaded you in," Tristen huffed.

"You did all this?" She had never been in snow like this before. It couldn't have been fun and it looked like a lot of hard work. People had heart attacks shoveling snow. She saw it on TV.

"Yeah," Tristen said proudly. He flipped the key, killing the ignition.

"Weren't you freezing?" Kacie gathered her purse and the remainder of the hot chocolate. Closing the lid on the thermos tightly with her fingers, she saved what warmth lingered in the rich, decadent, mix. Tristen might be a flirtatious pain in the ass. But, he'd shoveled her driveway and stairs and he'd brought her hot chocolate. That scored him some serious points with her.

"Nah, I like playing in the snow." Tristen climbed out and walked to the passenger side, opening the door for Kacie and offering her a hand.

Kacie slid her gloves on and grabbed a hold of Tristen's shoulder for support. The last thing she needed to add to her aches and pains was a bunch of bruises from falling out of the SUV onto her ass. "You like this?"

"Sure. Haven't you ever played in the snow?"

"It doesn't snow much in Texas," Kacie mumbled. She wrapped her scarf securely around her neck and face. Blocking the wind as it howled and sent flakes showering down from the roof. The fringed ends of the thick, pink, wool scarf blew in the gust. How anyone could find this 'fun' was beyond her. The cold was already numbing her toes and seeping through her jeans. Fun wasn't a word that came to mind where winter and she were concerned.

"Ah, you've just never had the chance to learn how to play in the snow. I'll show you." Tristen pried the silver thermos out of her fingers and slid her purse free from her shoulder and arm. Taking her hand, he dragged her off the neatly shoveled drive and into the flat, unblemished, layer of snow in the front yard. "Its fun. You'll see."

He pulled her to a stop. Her lower legs were buried in snow up past her calves. The snow was perfect, deep, but light and fluffy enough for play. He jumped free of their footsteps and landed in a perfectly unmarked space of white. "Come on. Don't mess it up, just jump."

When Tristen flopped onto his back into the cold, wet snow. Kacie blinked in disbelief. How could someone voluntarily nose dive into the snow? "What are you doing? You're going to freeze to death." He lay on his back in the snow, flopping around like a fish out of water.

"No I'm not. Come on." Tristen stretched out and spread his arms and legs. Fanning them back and forth, he made a pattern in the snow. He carefully inched out of his design. Hopping clear of his handiwork he stepped back to admire it. "See, a snow angel. You try it."

"I'll get all wet."

"So." Tristen turned her and gave her backside a gentle shove. "Try it. Don't be such a baby." He grinned slyly and winked at her, knowing a bit of harassment would get her ass moving. She'd rather go head first into a snowdrift than admit she was hot for him. Besides, if she got all cold, warming her up could be loads of fun. "Are you afraid of being wet?"

"I'm not the one rolling in the snow like an IDIOT," Kacie huffed. She blushed furiously at Tristen's innuendo. Wet? Ummm, no she wasn't afraid of getting wet. She was afraid of him getting her wet. The most embarrassing part of it was that he was getting her wet and it had nothing to do with the snow. Tristen sprung from his footprints and bounded into a fresh patch of snow. He fell on his back and wiggled his arms and legs. Ok, so his motions did make something in the snow that vaguely resembled an angel. And yeah, it was kind of neat looking. But, she wasn't going to join in. This was kid stuff.

Tristen finished his angel. He rose up on his feet and stared dejectedly at Kacie. He was trying to get her to relax and have some fun. Fun was where a person found it and in what they made with what they had. She was determined not to join in the fun. She was so anti-fun, standing there with her arms crossed over her coat and glaring at him. He'd just have to try harder. He lunged and latched onto her arms, pulling her forward.

"Tristen quit!" Kacie lost her balance and plunged into the snow, landing on her knees in the cold, wet, soft, drifts.

"See, once you get moving, it's not that cold. Just roll onto your back and move your arms and legs like this." Tristen flopped down beside her and flipped over onto his back, waving his arms and legs exaggeratedly in the snow to make another angel. When he finished, he smiled at her. "Fun. Kacie. Fun." He pulled and tugged on her arms until she fell over into the snow beside him.

"Will you let me go inside if I do this?" Kacie shivered and rolled onto her back giving in. Tristen would never leave her alone until she played along and made a damn snow angel. She was freezing her ass off and wanted nothing more than a hot shower and her warm bed. The sooner she made the angel, the better. She stared up at the snowflakes as they drifted down, landing gently on her eyelashes. She fluttered her arms and legs, pushing the snow into a pattern as she made her angel. She was freezing and she felt utterly ridiculous.

Tristen clapped in encouragement. The sound was muffled a bit by the heavy pair of gloves on his hands. He sprung to his feet and jumped free of his angel. Leaning forward to help Kacie up, he brushed snow out of her hair and admired their handiwork. "Look, our angels are holding hands."

"No they're not," Kacie protested. The angels were side by side. The swoop of their arms touched, making it look like they were holding hands. She smiled beneath the layer of the wool scarf covering her mouth. The cold wetness that soaked through her jeans was temporarily forgotten. Ok, so playing in the snow was kind of fun. Maybe, she'd make just one more snow angel. "Can we do it again?"

"As many times as you want." Tristen followed Kacie across the yard, flopping into the snow beside her. They made angel after angel until there wasn't a blank space left on the ground. The sound of Kacie's laughter echoed, breaking the silence and stillness of the neighborhood around them. She was having fun. He was having fun watching her have fun and having fun with her.

The cold and wet finally got the better of her. She was thoroughly soaked and goose pimpled beneath her coat. For a minute, she'd forgotten to be worried about her mother. She'd forgotten that her future was uncertain and that she didn't know what tomorrow would bring. She was simply enjoying, playing like a little girl in the snow, like she was free and didn't have a care in the world.

She scooped up a handful of snow and formed it into a ball with her palms. Tristen was staring off into the distance, not paying attention. Yeah, she smelled it too, one of the brothers making a patrol through the neighborhoods a few blocks over. There was nothing quite like the smell of a vampire. Sweet and earthy, maybe, a bit wild and dangerous, like leather, and steel, and gunpowder. The brothers weren't dangerous though, at least not to them. Kacie had kind of gotten used to their scents. The noise had probably drawn their attention. It wasn't unusual to smell a brother this close to the house. Ginger well, she was a part of them. Not a vampire, a donor and well, to put it quite frankly, she was on their menu. Something Kacie tried damn hard not to think about. She couldn't even fathom letting a vampire, good intended or not, snack on her.

She launched her attack. The snowball splattered into pieces against the back of Tristen's head. She chuckled gleefully and scooped up another handful as he turned to blink at her in disbelief.

Tristen shook his hair free of the snow. Stifling a chuckle, he pretended to be furious with her. "I think you've got this playing in the snow thing down now," he said sternly. Ducking as she launched another attack, he crouched and gathered up a handful of snow, forming it into a loose ball.

Kacie squealed as the snow from Tristen's snowball trickled beneath the collar of her coat and inched a cold melting trail down her spine. Tristen was on her in an instant. Grabbing her waist and shoving handfuls of snow down the back of her jeans. He picked her up and tossed her into the fluffy snow, wrestling playfully with her as they rolled across yard.

Kacie twisted and turned, shoving handfuls of snow down his shirt, wrestling with him to gain the upper hand. In a swift move, so fast that she didn't have time to react, he had her pinned on her back, arms to her side and her legs pressed hard against his. Squashed beneath him, hip to hip, shoulder to shoulder, he hovered over her, their faces inches apart.